Words
by celtickat
Summary: Romantic angst of the GABBY variety.  One shot.


**Words**

**A/N: found the bones of this in a notebook I took on holiday with me…as always reviews, both good and bad are always appreciated**

Neither of them could remember how it started; only how it finished and that memory filled them both with guilt and remorse….

"You want me to go? Is that where this is going Gibbs, you want me to turn round and walk out of here?" Abby was no longer shouting, her voice low, her anger barely held in check.

"You do whatever you want Abby, nothing I say ever has or ever will stop you" Gibbs voice had also dropped to an ominous level.

Tempers were frayed and the glares that they directed at each other were full of fire and animosity so neither picked up on the warning signs that were flashing clear as day.

Abby spun on her heel and walked out letting the door slam shut behind her, jumping into her car she gunned the engine and took off down the street.

It took a few minutes for Gibbs to realise what had just happened and he stared in horror at the door. He wrenched it open and yelled "ABBY" knowing it was futile, knowing she had gone too far to hear him. Slowly, gently, he closed the door again. Sliding down the wall, he dropped his head into his hands, the sense of loss overwhelming him.

Abby drove aimlessly for hours, not paying any attention to where she was going, the anger dissipating with every mile. Finally she parked up and let her head fall heavily against the head rest. She had walked out. On Gibbs. Realisation hit her and she did nothing to stop the tears that started streaming down her face.

The next day Gibbs drove to work slowly, worry making him nauseous. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Abby's car parked in her usual spot.

Ziva was, as usual, at her desk when he walked in. What was unusual was the questioning glances she kept throwing in his direction.

"What?" he asked in an irritated tone

"Nothing" Ziva muttered and pointedly looked away.

Gibbs shook his head in annoyance and turned back to his computer. His eyes caught the large Caf Pow on his desk, he had automatically bought it that morning with his coffee. Before he could change his mind, he grabbed the cup and went down to the lab.

His concern grew as he reached the unnaturally silent lab, he took a moment to watch Abby who was sitting, her back to him, unmoving at her bench. When she turned he noticed immediately her eyes were red and puffy. He cursed himself, he was the cause of this obvious pain and he wanted only to put his arms around her and kiss the pain away, instead he stayed where he was and said "where did you stay last night?"

He winced as Abby's look hardened, his tone had been way harsher than he had intended.

Abby glared at him until he looked away then said bitterly "Nothing I say will change whatever you've already decided about where I stayed last night"

Gibbs took a step forward, cursing loudly when his phone started to ring. "Gibbs"

He listened for a few seconds before hanging up and without another word turned and strode out of the lab.

As he got back to the squad room the look Ziva cast in his direction was not lost on him. "Grab your gear, David with me, you too get the truck"

As soon as they were in the car Gibbs didn't waste any time "You got something to say David?"

Ziva stared at him the said slowly "Abby…..she came over last night, late. Gibbs I have never her so upset. She didn't go into details just said that she had screwed up big time and that you would never forgive her."

Ziva, used to Gibbs silence, was surprised when he whispered "It wasn't her who screwed up"

The rest of the journey took place in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

As soon they arrived at the crime scene, Gibbs snapped in work mode, albeit more abruptly and aggressively than normal. The case was, on the surface, a straightforward suicide, they would have to wait for forensic corroboration though and they worked quickly to get the evidence back to the lab.

It took Abby 12 hours to confirm that it was indeed a suicide. She knew that the team had left hours ago, trusting her to call them if anything odd turned up so she e-mailed the results to the team and printed a hard copy to leave on Gibbs desk on her way out. Only then did she let her thoughts drift to what she was going to do that night, or more specifically, where she was going to go that night. A hand on her shoulder made her jump, thinking for an irrational moment it was Gibbs before seeing it was Ziva.

Abby hugged her tightly, grateful that her friend had stayed behind.

"What do I do Ziva?"

"Go home Abby, trust me, it will be ok"

"Did you talk to him!"

"As much as anyone ever _talks _to Gibbs…."

"And?"

"Go home Abby"

Abby couldn't read Ziva's expression through her tears so just accepted what she had been told and nodded.

Abby drove home slowly, her mind whirling through every possible thing she could say. None of them seemed quite right so she decided to say nothing and wait for Gibbs to take the lead.

Several miles away, Gibbs was going through exactly the same thoughts and reaching the same conclusion.

She sat in the car for a long time before slowly walking up to the front door. She opened it as silently as she could and eased it closed after slipping inside. She leant against it, eyes closed, preparing herself for the worst.

Gibbs stood at the end of the hallway watching her turmoil play across her face and almost unconsciously moved towards her. When she opened her eyes he was no more than an arms length away.

Their eyes locked, Abby's lip trembled and try as she might she couldn't hold back the tears or the sob. That was the final straw for Gibbs; he reached out and pulled her into his chest. Abby's arms tightened around him and they stood in the hallway clinging to each other until Abby's tears had dried and Gibbs heart rate had returned to normal.

Gibbs pulled back slightly, just enough to give him room to bend his head and kiss her. The kiss was passionate and urgent, and quickly left them both breathless and aroused. As one they moved upstairs, resuming their kiss as they disrobed as quickly as they could.

There was no foreplay; they made love quickly and aggressively, both trying to give more than they took. Eventually the aggression gave way to a gentleness that left them both smiling.

Words had caused the rift; they didn't need words to heal it.

THE END


End file.
